Inspired by Nothing More
by EddingsFan
Summary: A drabble inspired by "Nothing More" by Yoe Mase.


NaLu Drabbles

Inspired by Nothing More by Yoe Mase

watch?v=AOyoia4Q2GU&index=29&list=PLNYlAz8KKiVl6HigSczBEHDdZhb5GdrOB

His tears were flowing down his face, his teeth bared in a grimace, his mouth watering, unable to stop the vile mixture of mucus and tears from sliding between his teeth, mixing with his saliva before dripping off his chin.

His hands shook, clinging to the soft flesh of his partner's shoulders as he silently clung to her, unable to take another breath, his chest was so tight.

Unable to take another breath of the air that she would never breathe again.

His vision started to go dark and he bent, curling himself around her body, burying his nose in the hollow behind her jaw, breathing deeply out of habit and his body's pleas for air. Her scent filled his lungs.

He smiled.

He could picture her blush, the way she giggled when he walked behind her and nuzzled this very place, his fear of being kicked paling in comparison to his urge to smell her, bathe in her scent. He had only begun making such advances recently, and was very pleased with how receptive she was.

But now she did not giggle. She did not kick him.

She did not breathe.

His body went lax, and he let out a heartbroken sob, then another, and at last, he turned his face to the sky, cradling her soft body against his chest, and _screamed_ , his pain and anguish ringing in the ears of his guildmates around him. They recoiled from the force of it, fear crossing their features as they watched his mind come undone before them.

The air in his lungs spent, Natsu slumped forward, his strong shoulders shaking as his tears continued to flow. He clung to her body, broken wails and whimpers slipping past his lips as he nuzzled her face, her neck, her collarbones, even holding her soft hand to his cheek, trying to get a response.

She did not move, and at length he lifted her body into his arms, careful as always that she would not fall.

He walked miles with her in his arms, head down, dripping from his chin onto her stomach until he had no more tears to offer the gods of sorrow, pain, and anguish. At last he arrived at her parents' grave.

He laid her down between them, and sat at her feet, head bowed.

He had not spoken since he killed the man who had murdered Lucy. His last words were, " _You killed her. You killed her before I had the chance to TELL HER! YOU BASTARD!"_

The guild knew that Natsu had been planning to ask Lucy on a date when they returned from their mission, but, as it turned out, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy never even made it to their destination.

The assassin had stepped out of the shadows halfway between Lucy's apartment and the guild. It wasn't pure chance that he had grabbed Lucy, and not Natsu. She had been walking backwards in front of him, excited for the large reward they were surely going to get.

Natsu could still remember the look on her face as the man grabbed her head, the absolute fear, then the deep sadness and regret as she looked at him, knowing in that split second that the man was going to snap her neck and end her life.

He had screamed her name, but he was to far away to stop her from falling. As soon as he reached her, he knelt at her side, cradling her in his lap. Natsu had turned to look for the man responsible, but he was gone. Happy flew at top speed to the guild, and everyone came rushing to the aid of the Celestial Mage and the Fire Dragon Slayer. Wendy couldn't heal her severed spinal cord, and the hope that bloomed on Natsu's face at her approach died as quickly as it had come.

Now, as he knelt at Lucy's feet, the air around him began to waver from the heat his body was putting off, and he turned to Master Makarov.

"I entrust to you the responsibility of her burial. Please make sure her headstone matches her parents'." Makarov's eyes widened, concern and sobriety deepening his wrinkles as he looked at his adopted son.

Natsu's eyes no longer had their fire. They were just black holes edged with anger and pain. Makarov knew in that moment, that the soul of his son had died with his beloved blonde daughter.

Natsu turned, unwinding his scarf from his neck, and wrapped it around Lucy's. His stomach churned at how stiff she was, and yet how easily her neck swiveled and bent. He laid her back down, and caressed her cheek for the last time, kissing her forehead lightly. He raised his eyes to her parents' headstone and spoke.

"While Fairy Tail has been my home for many years, and I found much joy there, your daughter brought me more joy in the time I knew her than all those years combined. She made me feel warm, safe, and, above all loved. I believe I speak for everyone here when I say I loved her dearly, however, I can say that I loved her in a far different way." His voice caught, and fresh tears flowed down his hard-lined face as he said his next words. "Lucy Heartfilia was my intended mate, and my one true love. I had planned to ask her out on a date when we got back from our mission, and continue our courtship, but I know that is impossible now. We will never be mated," his voice caught, and he choked out his next words, "and she will never know how much I love her, even now." He gazed at her pale face, the anguish in his features transforming into rage as he turned to his guildmates. "As such, I will be hunting down her killer, and killing him myself."

A collective gasp ran through the crowd, but Natsu was only looking at one person.

Gajeel nodded, understanding crossing his features as he stepped forward out of the crowd. "I understand. I will take care of them in your stead. I gladly accept this responsibility and pledge my life to our family's safety." Gajeel bowed his head, offering the traditional dragon's final farewell. "I wish you luck, and swift and bountiful hunting in this world, and the next. Goodbye dragon-brother." His voice rang out over the others' protests, and there was total silence afterwards. Natsu nodded, "Thank you dragon-brother. I know they will be safe in your care. I also wish you luck, and swift and bountiful hunting, in this world and the next. To you as well Wendy. May you grow to be strong. I'm sure you will make us all proud of you." Wendy rushed forward, wrapping herself around Natsu's midsection in a tight hug before stepping back. A look passed between the three dragon slayers, one of absolute trust and respect. They grasped forearms and hugged each other, all three knowing what would happen when Natsu completed his mission.

As Gajeel and Wendy stepped back into the crowd, the guildmaster stepped forward, tears streaming down his face. "Natsu, please don't do this. I cannot allow you to stay in the guild if you take a life. Please do not make me give up another one of my children today. You will never be able to come back to Fairy Tail, and by law you will become a dark wizard." He paused to sob and held his hands out pleadingly, "You will be as good as dead to us." Makarov begged Natsu, but Natsu only offered a sad smile in return as he turned to gaze at Lucy.

"Gramps, I'm already dead."

Three years later to the day, Natsu returned to Lucy's grave.

He had hunted all of the people involved in her murder, and killed them all, all the way to the top. He discovered that at one point Jude had made enemies with another powerful family, and even though the Heartfilia family had fallen from grace, they wanted it exterminated. When they discovered that Lucy was living in Magnolia, they took the opportunity to have her killed.

Natsu laid next to her grave, staring up at the starry sky she had loved so much. These long three years without her, he had taken to staring at them until he fell asleep, remembering her voice as she repeatedly tried to teach him the names of all the constellations. His eyes slowly drifted shut, comfortable in the silence he had gotten so used to.

When he left the guild, Happy had tried to follow him. Natsu had taken him aside, explaining what would happen once Natsu left the guild. Happy had cried, screamed, and ranted, but at last, he understood that Natsu had to do this alone. Natsu remembered the sound of Happy's sobbing as he walked away, the smell of everyone's tears carried on the breeze carrying him forward him forward.

He had been made of nothing but ash. Burned out by the pain of loosing her. Sometime in his musing he had fallen asleep, and Natsu was awoken by the feeling of a warm hand in his.

He knew this hand.

It was _hers._

Natsu sobbed, squeezing his eyes shut, not willing to believe that it was really her, all the pain of her death crushing his chest again.

" _Shhhhh, Natsu. Don't cry. You've come back from your mission right? You can cash in your reward now! I may not be made of jewel, but I like to think that I'm a good reward."_

Natsu opened his eyes as his head snapped toward her voice. _**Her**_ voice.

There she was. Glowing and slightly transparent, but there she was. Her brown eyes as warm as his heart as he looked into them. His face creased in something other than a cruel smile for the first time in three years, and he rolled over, clutching her close, inhaling her scent and frantically kissing every bit of skin he could reach. She laughed and held him closely in return, kissing him back, tangling their legs until you couldn't tell where one began and the other ended.

At last their lips met, and as they parted, they both said the words they had been aching to say since the day Natsu caught Lucy when she fell from Jose's tower.

" _I love you."_

They shared a goofy grin, and clung to each other for a moment before Lucy extricated herself from Natsu's grip, standing, pulling him up with her, as he refused to let go of her hand. She pointed to the massive gate that had appeared without his noticing not fifty yards from them.

" _Let's go! I can't wait for you to meet everyone! My mom and dad are through there, and we can go visit the Celestial Spirit Realm whenever we want!"_ Her face was bright with joy as she tugged him forward, but he stayed still, staring down at the body laying next to her grave.

His body.

He knew that as soon as he killed those responsible for his intended mate's death, that he would come back to her corpse. It was an instinct instilled into his dragon self. Igneel had told him to follow that instinct, and that afterward he would be with his mate again. He just wasn't prepared for the sight of his empty body laying on the ground, curled into the space he knew her body was, six feet under.

Lucy turned back to stand beside him, still holding his hand.

" _I know. It's rough seeing your body."_ She giggled suddenly. _"I never realized my breasts were that big."_ Her face turned serious. _"The guild will be by soon. It's the anniversary of my, well now our, deaths. We don't want to be here when they get here. It's very sad. We will see them when they go through the gate, we just have to be patient."_

Natsu turned to look at her reassuring expression, pain in his heart for his family that he had to leave behind, but joy overcame it as he looked at the face he had seen in his dreams so many times since he left his old life.

She smiled up at him, and he smiled effortlessly back at her, his eyes squinting shut, bearing his teeth in a wide grin. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders before staring at his scarf around her neck. She looked up as she felt him pause, her eyes questioning before the light of understanding lit up her eyes.

" _Oh! Do you want this back?"_ She fingered the scarf around her neck fondly, ready to give it up should he ask.

He only grinned and kissed her gently.

" _Nope! It will keep the other guys off of ya."_ He blushed. _"It looks better on you anyway."_

She blushed prettily, _"Thank you Natsu."_ She smiled and leaned toward the gate, reminding him that they had places to be, _"You ready to go yet? I know this was scary for me when I did it the first time."_

Natsu grinned and nodded, taking her hand again, beginning to walk toward the massive silver and white gate. He placed his hands gently on the metal, turning toward her, as he slowly pushed the gate doors open.

" _No worries Luce. I'm not scared of what's to come. Wanna know why?"_ His eyes sparkled with renewed life as he looked down at her, the two of them framed perfectly in the gateway.

" _Because you're all fired up?"_ She smirked up at him, one eyebrow raised.

He rolled his eyes. _"No."_ He got a contemplative look, _"But that too."_ He laughed when she groaned, and he rubbed the tips of their noses together before pulling her close for a hug, _"I'm not scared because it's more fun when we're together."_

Natsu pulled back slightly, and upon seeing tears flowing down Lucy's face, he gently kissed them away, gently ensnaring her hand and entwining their fingers.

" _Now, are you ready? I wanna meet this mom of yours. If she's even half the weirdo you are, I'm sure I'll love her."_

Lucy laughed and smacked him playfully on the chest before pulling him through the gate, already telling him all the fun adventures she has been holding out on having, because she wanted to have them with him.

Natsu smiled and laughed with her, following her through the gate.

He may be going into uncharted territory, leaving Fairy Tail behind forever, but he was with Lucy.

For the first time in exactly three years…

He was with the woman he loved.


End file.
